Schottenstift

The Schottenstift (English: Scottish Abbey), formally called Benediktinerabtei unserer Lieben Frau zu den Schotten (English: Benedictine Abbey of Our Dear Lady of the Scots), is a Catholic monastery founded in Vienna in 1155 when Henry II of Austria brought Irish monks to Vienna.

Ireland was known in Latin as "Scotia Major";[1] therefore, in German, Irish monks were called "Schotten" (Scots) or "Iroschotten".

In the foundation documents of the Schottenstift, Henry II specified that it was to be occupied exclusively by these "Iroschotten" ("Solos elegimus Scottos").

It also provided a library, a hospice and old age home, architects, educated men, and priests to conduct services in the new ducal city.

In the middle of the 15th century, the monastery was distinguished through the literary activities of its schoolmaster, Wolfgang Schmeltzl, and his successor, Johannes Rasch.

The collapse of the tower, struck by a lightning bolt in 1638, was seized as an opportunity to completely rebuild the church, a project undertaken by the architects Andrea d'Allio the Younger and Silvestro Carlone.

Directly next door stood the Hotel Römischer Kaiser, where the first public performance of a song by Franz Schubert was held.

From this period date the ceiling paintings by Julius Schmid, and a new high altar, built from sketches by Heinrich von Ferstel, with a mosaic by Michael Rieser.